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Charlton automatic rifle
(Charlton) (Electrolux) |barrel= (Charlton) (Electrolux) |weight= (Charlton) (Electrolux) |justweight= |width= |height= |magazine=10 rounds (SMLE magazine) 30 rounds (Bren magazine) |cycle=700rpm |effective= |range= |usedby= |velocity= }}The Charlton automatic rifle was an automatic conversion of the Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield rifles, designed in New Zealand by Philip Charlton. History The Charlton was developed in response to the lack of machine guns available in New Zealand and Australia upon the outbreak of World War II. Philip Charlton, a motor technician, conceived the system as a means to convert obsolete Lee-Metford rifles into rudimentary automatic rifles. The concept was proposed to the New Zealand Army, who expressed interest in putting the Charlton into production. An order of 1,500 Charltons was placed in 1941. Initial conversions were completed in New Zealand at Charlton Motor Works. Progress was very slow, with only 431 models completed by July 1942; the latter half of this production run were converted from Lee-Enfield rifles, as the supply of surplus Lee-Metfords had already been expended. Production was also hindered by the lack of replacement components for the decrepit rifles that were subjected to the conversion, as the Army could not spare any parts. As such, Charlton had to outsource the production of replacement components to various engineering workshops in Wellington and Hastings, which further complicated matters. The 1,500 units ordered by the Army were eventually completed before the end of the war, but were ultimately not put to a great deal of use, in part due to their limited numbers and in part due to the steady supply of Bren guns that were delivered to and produced in Australia and New Zealand. Two prototypes of an improved Charlton gun were designed by the Australian firm of Electrolux in 1944, although this version received no orders from the Army. After the war, the Charlton gun was taken out of service and most of them were stored in a warehouse in Palmerston, which subsequently burned down, destroying most of the Charlton guns. Only a few now survive today, and are mostly kept in museums. The two Electrolux-built prototypes are also still existent and are kept at the Royal Armories archives in Britain. Design The Charlton was a gas-operated conversion of the Lee-pattern rifle. The conversion was achieved by fixing a long gas tube connecting the barrel to the bolt, whereupon the gas pressure exerted upon firing would travel down the tube towards the bolt and force it backward. The bolt was then guided back forward by an angled cam slot, which is fitted to the side of the receiver. In this way, it operated in very similar fashion to the earlier Howell conversion that preceded it. The Charlton also incorporated a secondary tube, located underneath the gas tube, which housed the return spring and guide rod. Unlike other Lee-Enfield conversions, the Charlton could fire in full-automatic and essentially be used in the role of a machine gun. It featured a fire selector with safety, semi-automatic, and fully-automatic options. The standard Lee-Enfield barrel was replaced by a finned barrel, and a bipod was also fitted. These features were designed to facilitate for automatic fire. The Charlton could feed from standard SMLE magazines or modified Bren gun magazines. Gallery Charlton_automatic.png|Charlton automatic rifle reproduction. Charlton_rifle.png|Charlton with SMLE magazine. Charlton_autorifle.png|Charlton with Bren magazine. Charlton_receiver.png|The receiver of the Charlton. Charlton_blueprints.png|Schematics of the Charlton rifle. Charlton_cam_slot.png|The Charlton's cam slot. Electrolux_Charlton.png|The Electrolux Charlton prototype. Electrolux_receiver.png|The Electrolux version's receiver. Category:Rifles Category:Automatic rifles